\n<\/p>\n
Ahead of its June 6 release, the John Wick<\/em> spin-off Ballerina<\/em> (full title: From the World of John Wick: Ballerina<\/em>) was plagued by negative rumors. The movie was filmed in late 2022, but there was additional shooting in 2024, leading some to speculate that what was originally filmed was a disaster. It was whispered (slash reported on blogs) that director Len Wiseman<\/strong> had been quietly replaced by John Wick<\/em> director Chad Stahelski,<\/strong> and that the film\u2019s studio, Lionsgate, demanded more Keanu Reeves<\/strong> (who plays prodigious assassin John Wick) to make a troubled film more sellable.<\/p>\n Wiseman has since dispelled those rumors<\/a>, saying that what were called \u201creshoots\u201d\u2014a term that might suggest a faulty original product\u2014were actually additive elements greenlit by a studio that was very excited about the project\u2019s potential. Wiseman clarified that Stahelski only stepped in because Wiseman had a health scare. We\u2019ll choose to accept that narrative\u2014especially after seeing the film, which may be silly and nonsensical, but is also quite a lot of fun.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get to perhaps the most pressing question about Ballerina<\/em>, even if it\u2019s perhaps a little unfair to the titular character: just how much is John Wick in the movie? Reeves\u2019s appearance in the film\u2014which is set between the third and fourth John Wick<\/em>s\u2014is more than mere cameo, but far from a true supporting turn. He\u2019s perhaps in the realm of a \u201cwith\u201d or \u201cand\u201d credited performance from a big name who pops in to do a few scenes.<\/p>\n We first see John at the ballet-assassin academy where grieving-furious orphan Eve (Ana de Armas<\/strong>) is training. They have a brief exchange and, we assume, that will be it in terms of John\u2019s involvement. But he returns later, for a small but not insignificant piece of action that, yes, may only exist to be spliced into the film\u2019s trailer, but doesn\u2019t feel too tacked-on. Wiseman and writer Shay Hatten<\/strong> find a way to insert John into the narrative in a mostly credible way. Though, really, what does credible mean in the ridiculous and ever-expanding universe of this franchise?<\/p>\n The John Wick<\/em> sequels grow more ornate as they go, introducing heaps of mythology\u2014about ancient assassin clans, rituals and rites, rules and regulations\u2014to what was once, at its inception, a mean and efficient little thing. Ballerina<\/em> only further bloats the lore, folding in a whole new sect of people\u2014a kind of killer commune-cult\u2014whose existence strains even the limits of this already ludicrous series. Yet one happily trots along with Ballerina<\/em> as it ventures into absurdity. Its silliness is, at least, compellingly rendered.<\/p>\n